NEWS 181022I’ve made an extra version of RaspEX LXDE. RaspEX Build 181022 uses a 64 bit kernel – 4.14.76-v8+. You can very easy switch back to the original 32 bit kernel (4.14.74-v7+) if you don’t find the 64 bit kernel useful. Since the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and B+ only have 1GB RAM it’s perhaps useless to run a 64 bit kernel, but who knows…

First things to do after installing RaspEX Build 1810221. You won’t be automatically logged in to LXDE because the system is “full” (100 %). Log in to LXDE from Slim’s login page as root with password root.2. Start up a terminal and run the command sh resize_rootfs.sh. Before that you can’t do anything because the system is full as this screenshot shows. After that all the space on the SD card will be used. Everything will be alright then.3. Run the command dphys-swapfile setupA SWAP file of 2 GB will be created. Then run the command dphys-swapfile swapon. Very useful if you want to run many programs at the same time.

When you have done step 1 – 3 you can use RaspEX Build 181022 in the same way as Build 181015. If you (for some reason) don’t like the 64 bit kernel (4.14.76-v8+) you can very easy change back to the original 32 bit kernel. Just edit /boot/config.txt to look like this (in relevant parts) and reboot your Raspberry Pi.

NEWS 181015 about RaspEX with LXDE based on (upcoming) Ubuntu 18.10I have upgraded the whole system and replaced the old kernel 4.14.30-v7+ with kernel 4.14.74-v7+. RaspEX Build 181015 is a Linux ARM system for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, 3 Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2. It is based on Debian 9 Stretch, (upcoming) Ubuntu 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish and Linaro (Open Source software for ARM SoCs). In this new version (181015) I’ve installed Wicd Network Manager. Both Firefox ESR and Chromium are pre-installed. I have also installed Samba and RealVNC so you can connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 3 or Pi 2 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). Furthermore some extra Network Tools, Midori Private Browser, SMTube (YouTube browser which allows to browse, search and play YouTube videos), PulseAudio for better sound in YouTube and Raspotify – Raspotify is a Spotify Connect client for Raspbian on the Raspberry Pi that just works. Study all installed packages in RaspEX Build 181015.

NEWS 181010 about the BunsenLabs version of RaspEXI’ve made a new extra version of RaspEX with BunsenLabs Helium Desktop. BunsenLabs Linux is a distribution offering a light-weight and easily customizable Openbox desktop. The project is a community continuation of CrunchBang Linux. The current release is Helium, derived from Debian 9 (Stretch). READ MORE…

NEWS 181015 about Firefox and RaspEXAs all of you who have downloaded RaspEX Build 180328 or 181010 may have noticed that YouTube doesn’t work very well in Chromium or Midori. Furthermore the newest versions of Firefox doesn’t work on a Raspberry Pi computer. The solution is to download and install Firefox 52.7.3 ESR. Unzip raspex-firefox.zip and install Firefox ESR with the command sudo dpkg -i libevent-2.1-6_2.1.8-stable-4_armhf.deb firefox-esr_52.7.3esr-1_armhf.deb. After that you can really enjoy YouTube in Firefox/RaspEX! Note: For some unknown reason the sound works better when logged in as root. Note also: In RaspEX LXDE Build 181015 I have preinstalled Firefox ESR.

Softpedia review
RaspEX version 181010 with BunsenLabs was reviewed by Softpedia 181010.

What is Raspberry Pi?The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games.Read more about Raspberry Pi…

The Raspberry Pi 3 model B made in February 2016. It has a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU and 1GB RAM. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ was out on the market March 14, 2018. The Pi 3 Model B+ packs a 1.4GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex A53 CPU made by Broadcom, dual-band 802.11ac wireless LAN support, Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, and Gigabit Ethernet support over USB 2.0 connectivity (that’s up to 300Mbps).

Kernel
Kernel 4.14.74-v7+ is used in Build 181015. Kernel 4.14.76-v8+ (64 bit) is used in Build 181022.

Why shall I use RaspEX?Eight Operating Systems are recommended by Raspberrypi.org. Among them Noobs, Raspbian (Debian Stretch) and Snappy Ubuntu Core. RaspEX is faster (“fast as lightning”), more useful and more fun to use. (In my opinion). One member at this site thought that running RaspEX (for Raspberry Pi 2 Model B) was like running Raspberry Pi on “steroids“. If you use the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ RaspEX will run even faster!
How do I install RaspEX in Windows?
Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded ZIP file (raspex-ubuntu-18.10-lxde-1400mb-181015.zip) and transfer the IMAGE file (raspex-ubuntu-18.10-lxde-4400mb-181015.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 8GB. For that you shall use Etcher in Windows. When running it it will look like this.

How do I install RaspEX in Linux?You canof course also install RaspEX in any Linux system using the dd command. Just open up at terminal and run the following command (as root):dd if=raspex-ubuntu-18.10-lxde-4400mb-181015.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1MNote:Change /dev/sdX to for example /dev/sdc, /dev/sde or…(Check it carefully before you run the above command so you won’t lose important data).

How do I use RaspEX?
When you start up your Raspberry Mini computer with RaspEX you will (after a few seconds) end up in X and LXDE as the ordinary user raspex. The password for raspex is raspex. When logged in as raspex you can use Sudo to become root. Example: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. The password for root (superuser) is root. You can log out from LXDE and log in again as root (if you want). This is how it looks at SLiM‘s login page.

You can log in as root with password root. You can of course also create a new ordinary user if you want. Command: /usr/sbin/adduser MyNewUser. If you don’t want to be automatically logged in as raspex you shall edit /etc/slim.conf.

When logged in as the ordinary user raspex your Desktop will look like this.

First two things to do after installation to your SD card1. Run the command sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.shAfter that all the space on the SD card will be used.2. Run the command sudo dphys-swapfile setupA SWAP file of 2 GB will be created. Then run the command dphys-swapfile swapon Very useful if you want to run many programs at the same time.
Error no_pubkey when trying to upgrade the systemWhen you run the command sudo apt-get update it can happen that you can’t update the sources due to missing pub_keys. The solution is to run the following commands.$ cd /var/lib/apt $ sudo mv lists lists.old $ sudo mkdir -p lists/partial $ sudo apt update

After that you can run apt-get update with success even though you still will get the same “no_pubkey” errors. Don’t worry. This error won’t prevent you from upgrading the system regularly with the command sudo apt upgrade.

Wireless connectionsThe new Raspberry Pi 3 and 3 Model B+ computer has “built in” 802.11n Wireless LAN.Using Raspberry Pi 2 you have to have a Wireless USB Adapter. The only one which works for Raspberry Pi 2 is Edimax EW-7811Un (as far as I know).

Expand the filesystem on the SD cardIf you install many new big programs and/or download large files (for example videos) you may run out of space on the SD card. That is best fixed by running the following command: sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.shNOTE: That’s all you have to do. Just wait for the script to fix everything. If you use a SD card of 64 GB all the space on it will be used afterwards.

About SSH, PuTTY, Samba, RealVNC and VNC ViewerSSH, PuTTy (Telnet/SSH client for X), Samba and RealVNC are pre-installed in RaspEX Build 181015. You need to install PuTTy and and VNC Viewer in your Windows system if you want to connect to RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 3/2 from Windows the way the below slideshow shows. (Please read the developers information about how to configure PuTTy and VNC Viewer).

READ also about my RaspEX Build 180331 (for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Model B+ and 2 Model B) with OpenCPN pre-installedOpenCPN is a free software (GPLv2) project to create a concise chart plotter and navigation software, for use underway or as a planning tool. OpenCPN is developed by a team of active sailors using real world conditions for program testing and refinement.